Well, what's good for the goose ...

A few questions for my conservative friends. Since "national security" is all the justification we need for the president to assassinate American citizens, why didn't we just send in a drone strike to take out Christopher Dorner, the (alleged) California cop killer? He's a terrorist, right? Since it's OK to wipe out an (alleged) terrorist compound in Pakistan or Yemen, why shouldn't the president -- or a governor, a police chief or a sheriff -- be able to order a drone strike to take out bad guys right here in America?Second, since the NRA and its supporters insist that Americans have the right to carry guns into a mall, a supermarket or a church, why are law-abiding citizens prohibited from bringing guns into the Capitol -- a building owned by We the People -- during the State of the Union speech? After all, if a crazed person opened fire on the president, armed citizens would be there to take him out. Why is the right to bear arms abridged at the steps of a public building, when (allegedly) more guns in the hands of more people makes us all safer?Finally, since establishing democracy around the world is (allegedly) the reason we went to war in Iraq and (allegedly) why we're still fighting in Afghanistan, why aren't religious conservatives demanding that democracy be imposed on the most autocratic institution on Earth? I'm referring to the Catholic Church, where a self-appointed group of insiders meets in secret to choose a new pope. Why shouldn't billions of Catholics have the same freedom to elect their leader in the democratic tradition that conservatives insisted was the scared right of millions of Iraqi Muslims?Just wondering.Dan MurphyEverett

Subscribe now

Unlimited digital access starting at 99 cents, or included with any print subscription.

Have your say

Feel strongly about something? Share it with the community by writing a letter to the editor. Send letters by e-mail to letters@heraldnet.com, by fax to 425-339-3458 or mail to The Herald - Letters, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We'll only publish your name and hometown.) We reserve the right to edit letters, but if you keep yours to 250 words or less, we won’t ask you to shorten it. If your letter is published, please wait 30 days before submitting another. Have a question about letters? Contact Carol MacPherson at cmacpherson@heraldnet.com or 425-339-3472.